REUTERS - Australia's Linc Energy wants to move its share listing to Singapore from Australia by December in order to tap growing Asian demand for oil and gas resources, it said on Wednesday.

Linc has struggled to commercialise its technologies for producing synthetic gas from coal and producing diesel and jet fuel from that gas.

It also produces oil in the United States and is looking to exploit shale resources in Australia.

The move to Singapore is designed to give it access to a new range of investors.

"This move is expected to improve our access to capital markets and our ability to market our UCG (underground coal gas) technology internationally," Linc's founder, chief executive and top shareholder, Peter Bond, said in a statement.

"We will be well positioned to capitalise on Singapore's strategy to become one of the world's top three major oil and gas trading hubs," he said.

Linc's main competitor in developing underground coal gas technology, which involves drilling into coal seams, heating the coal and introducing a mix of oxygen and steam to generate gas and then extracting it, is South Africa's SASOL.

Once it lists in Singapore, Linc said it would no longer be subject to Australian Securities Exchange listing rules but would still be bound by Australian company rules and continuous disclosure requirements.

Linc shares, which are 40 per cent owned by Bond, rose 1.8 per cent to A$1.43, valuing the group at A$742 million (S$875 million). The broader market was up 0.2 per cent. The stock traded as high as A$5.09 five years ago.